Masks
by Rotten Demise
Summary: Zexion meets the new transfer student, and immediately writes him off as a dunce. But is Demyx really who he appears to be? Zemyx, Akuroku.
1. New Student

**Author's Note: **Well, this is basically the second fanfic I have ever written in my entire life, and the first with multiple chapters. I have a lot planned for this story, and don't worry, it gets a lot more exciting than this. Rated M for occurrences in later chapters.

I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters, obviously.

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The first time I laid eyes on him, he was standing at the front of my Biology classroom, a nervous grin plastered on his face. His dirty blonde hair was styled in a spiky sort of mullet. I snorted softly- did he even realize how stupid he looked? His eyes met mine and his smile widened. Flustered, I looked away, scowling. The kid looked like he barely understood what the word "Biology" meant. I didn't have any desire to be acquainted with someone like that.

"As you can see, we have a new student. I hope you'll make him feel welcome. Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself, Demyx?"

"Me?" Blinking his wide green eyes, he scrunched up his face in thought. "Well, uh, I'm Demyx. I like music and hanging out. And, I…yeah. I'm not very good at talking and stuff. Can I go sit down?" The teacher nodded, and he headed straight for me. Damn. The seat behind me was empty. Determined not to look at him again, I cupped my chin in my hand and stared at the wall. Demyx sat down noisily and his knees jabbed into my back. How tall was this kid, anyway?

"Zexion? I know you prefer to work alone, but will you be Demyx's lab partner? Everyone else is taken." The teacher looked at me expectantly, his tone making it clear that it wasn't really an option.

I sighed. "Yes, sir." Great. Now I was stuck with the dunce. I was top of the class – really, I should be in advanced classes, but there was no such thing at dead-end Oblivion High. Wishing bitterly that my father would have permitted me to attend a school somewhere abroad, I pulled out my books and slammed them on my desk with unnecessary force.

A cheerful voice behind me jerked me out of my thoughts. "So your name's Zexion? That's kinda hard to say. Can I call you Zexy?"

"No," I snapped, turning around to glare at him. Our height difference was obvious even sitting down, as I found myself staring at an oversized pair of headphones looped around his neck. I raised my eyes to his face, noticing how well his hair framed his face. I felt the heat rise to my face, and I turned around again, mortified. What the hell had gotten into me?

He was silent for a few minutes as the teacher droned on. I was only half-paying attention, anyway. I could skip every class and still pass with a higher mark than everyone else in this room. I wouldn't, of course. I had a reputation to keep up.

"Hey, Zexy," Demyx hissed in my ear. "D'you get any of this? It's so confusing."

"Spend less time talking and more time listening. Then maybe you'd get it," I muttered irritably. I leaned forward and buried my face in my hands. Why me?

Thankfully, my two other morning classes were Demyx-free. Thinking to myself that maybe I'd be able to maintain my sanity if I only had to deal with him for an hour a day, I headed into the cafeteria and slid into my usual seat by the window, across from Roxas.

"You look pissed," he observed, offering me his bag of salt and vinegar chips. I took one absentmindedly, licking off the flavouring before replying.

"I am. There's this complete IDIOT who just transferred here, and guess who has the pleasure of being his lab partner in Bio?"

Roxas just looked at me with his solemn cerulean eyes. "You think almost everyone is an idiot, Zexion. Why's this one getting to you so much? Usually you just insult them and move on."

"Because he-" I was cut off as two tall guys came up to our table. One, skinny with obnoxiously bright, spiky red hair, was Axel. Trailing behind him was- no, it couldn't be.

"Hey, guys," Axel said, plopping down beside Roxas. "This is Demyx. He's just moved here, and he's totally awesome, so I said he could eat with us from now on. Dem, that's Zexion, and this…" he slunk an arm around Roxas' shoulders, who rolled his eyes but didn't pull away. "….is Roxas."

"Hi!" Demyx said brightly, settling himself beside me. "I didn't know you were friends with Axel, Zexy! That's so cool!"

"Yeah….cool…" I replied, repressing the urge to smash my head against the table as I picked at a loose thread on my jeans. "You're sitting in Xion's seat, by the way. And stop calling me Zexy."

My last statement was lost as Marluxia and Larxene showed up. And when Xion came along, she said she didn't even mind and that Demyx could have her seat if he wanted. Why did she have to be so damn nice?

As everyone else immersed themselves in conversation, Roxas wrestled his hoodie out of Axel's grip and leaned across the table. "So who's the idiot in Bio you were talking about?"

I jerked my head towards Demyx, who was busy trying to convince Marluxia that the latter was, in fact, a girl. Roxas followed my movements, then turned to me and laughed. "You always have the worst luck. Guess you'll just have to learn how to deal with him." He clapped me on the shoulder and turned back to Axel, leaving me to lean against the window and wonder why these things always happened to me.


	2. A Walk to Remember

"So, what do you think of Demyx?" I asked Marluxia casually. We lived in the same neighbourhood, so we had been walking home from school together for as long as I could remember. That would all change soon, I realized with a jolt. Marluxia, Axel and Larxene were all a year ahead of me. Roxas and Xion were a year behind. We'd known each other for year and years…well, except for Xion. She had moved here a little over a year ago, to live with her cousin Roxas.

"Demyx? The guy spent the lunch hour trying to convince me I was female." Marluxia rolled his eyes. "I guess his stupidity could be kinda charming. He's annoying, but he has good intentions."

I scowled, picking a dead leaf off of my blue striped sweater. "Why does everybody like him so much? He's a loud, obnoxious idiot."

"You judge people far too harshly, Zexion. Do you really think that? I saw the way you were looking at him," Marluxia said with a knowing smile.

"The way I-I what?" I sputtered indignantly. How had I been looking at him? There was nothing wrong with observing him, noticing how his t-shirt stretched over his broad shoulders, or the deep dimples in his cheeks when he smiled.

Marluxia laughed, the wind blowing his wavy pink hair into his face. "I swear, I've never seen you with such a tender expression on your face. You're infatuated."

I stopped dead, turning on my heels so fast that I nearly knocked Marluxia over. I gripped the front of his vest, glaring up at him. He had a good six inches on me and could have easily shoved me out of the way, but he stood still, looking slightly surprised.

"Infatuated? I'm not a fucking fag like Axel or Roxas. I'm not a manwhore like you, wanting to fuck anybody with a pulse! You may have known me a long time, but you think you can tell me how I'm feeling? YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW I FEEL, MARLUXIA! DON'T YOU DARE GO AROUND TELLING PEOPLE I'VE GOT THE HOTS FOR THAT…THAT RETARD, BECAUSE HE'S THE LAST PERSON ON EARTH I WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH!"

Breathing heavily, I let go, glaring at my friend. I had no idea why I was so angry, or why I was taking it out on him. All I knew was that the last thing I wanted was people thinking I was in love with Demyx.

"Hey, sorry, man," Marluxia said quietly. "I was just teasing you. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I replied shortly. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Sorry."

Marluxia gave me a look that suggested he didn't believe a word of that, but didn't say anything else. I scowled and began walking again, shoulders tensed. I knew it was a lie, and he knew it was a lie, but I didn't want to talk about it and he had known me long enough to know not to push me. We walked in silence the rest of the way, Marluxia giving me a pat on the back when we reached my house. I nodded at him as I unlocked the elegant metal gate and walked up the driveway. We both lived on the "rich" side of town, and while my Victorian-style house wasn't big enough to be considered a mansion, it still boasted six bedrooms, four bathrooms and an extension containing a science lab.

My father is a big-name scientist, in addition to being the mayor. He's never home much, but I prefer it that way. We don't get along very well. He isn't my real father – my parents died when I was very young, and he adopted me.

I punched in the access code when I got to the back door, slipped inside and kicked off my shoes, still brooding. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, I headed upstairs and opened the door to my room. It wasn't anything special – it was fairly large, with a bay window framed by long black curtains and an en-suite bathroom, but otherwise it was pretty ordinary. Bookcases lined one wall, filled with both fiction and nonfiction works. My desk was beside the window, my laptop and a lamp sitting on top of it. I dumped my backpack on the floor, then flopped onto my bed, burying my face in the black and white comforter.

Demyx. His face swam around in my mind – his wide, sparkling green eyes with long eyelashes, the carefully styled dirty blonde hair that suited him so well, his bright, dimpled smile. Now Marluxia's words rang in my head again, and anger rose so fast that I screamed and sat up. My face contorted with frustration, I punched the mattress as hard as I could. "I'M. NOT. GAY!" I yelled at the ceiling, punctuating each word with a slam of my fist.

Just because my closest male friends were gay or bisexual didn't mean I was. Just because I was more observant than your average person didn't mean I was attracted to Demyx. Just because Marluxia made one stupid comment didn't mean I needed to freak out like this.

I grabbed a random book off my shelf and sat back down, trying to calm myself. I had only known the idiot for one day, and I couldn't stand him. There was no way I could possibly have feelings for him.

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**Author's Note: **I'm sorry this chapter is so boring! I wrote it while I was sick, but don't worry, things really start to heat up in the next chapter. Expect way more Demyx.


End file.
